Riptide [Bakugou x Reader Mermaid AU]

THIRTEEN

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     Sero blindly followed the silhouette of Eidolon. He tried to stay near the surface, watching and trailing after the blue and black flecks that broke out through the dim, murkiness of the mermaids' tail. Those luminous specks danced in the light filtering from the surface, catching like stars against the night sky of their tail and reflecting dazzlingly off any object they touched. He watched as Kek curved their arms downward, their entire body slipping after it as they descended deeper, sending a few bubbles up towards Hanta as he loitered above them.

     Even at its deepest point, the main pool of U.A was only about twenty meters or so deep, so Sero knew he would be safe following after the mermaid without any extra equipment. He took a second just to break the surface of the water, hearing the slight ticking of his breathing piece filling back up with air, before he pushed himself downwards with his arms, flipping around to dive down into the direction Eidolon had just disappeared too.

     At first, he couldn't find the mermaid. Sero hit the sandy bed pretty quickly, following along the coarse sand and rocks as the pool slowly slopped downwards. The water was crystal clear, so it was easy to see the tip of the shipwreck planted amongst the rocks and the sand slowly coming into view over the ridge of the ground. Boulders and shells scattered around the pool bed like sprinkles on a birthday cake, and he spotted just the vibrant cobalt tip of a frilly tail fin disappear through one of the ships large windows.

     Sero couldn't help but grin, awkward around his mouthpiece. So, that's what they want, huh? They want to play a game.

     Picking up speed, kicking his legs hard and looping his arms around, towards his chest and then back out again, it didn't take Sero long until he was at the same window Eidolon had several minutes previous slipped through. Hanta followed, wedging himself a little less gracefully through the hole and coming to float in an empty room. The room was pretty dim, the only light coming through the open window and a few cracks across the wall, but he quickly spotted an open gap where a door would have been on the far side of the room. Moving through it, it led out into a narrow corridor.

Now, left or right?

     He went right, figuring that looked as though it followed deeper into the ship. He was correct, the corridor soon opened out into a bright gallery. A large, domed skylight sat above him, flooding the open space with natural sunlight that twinkled off precious, shining decorations and accents adorning the walls and scattered across the furniture. Wide stairs wound down the walls either side, and Sero swam up to the railings, peering over the edge.

     Grinning, he spotted Eidolon below him, the mermaid caught his gaze only for second before disappearing through an opening below him, between the stairs. Sero followed quickly, pulling himself over the balcony railings and dipping round beneath himself to follow after the mermaid. Eidolon spared a glanced over their shoulder at the man before they disappeared around another corner, their expression unreadable. It had Sero's heart hammering wildly in his chest, and he picked up the pace, equal parts curious and excited. He bounced off the wall on the other end, pushing at the cool surface to thrust off from, propelling himself further down the hallway where he could see the striking blue fans of Eidolon's tail flowing before him. He hadn't seen them like this before. Sure, he'd seen the mermaid's tail in great detail over the last week or so, but not in a large open space like this where they was able to move so freely. The pool they were staying in was small, especially for Eidolon's large tail, so seeing those frills waving and flowing to their own beat was hypnotizing.

     It made him feel a little guilty, thinking about it. It must be so cramped in that small pool in comparison to the large ocean where they could really be free. Although the private pool wasn't exactly small, it was no better than a human being stuck in a cargo container. The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. The tank in their room would be even smaller still, and it would probably never come close to how the ocean would actually feel for them. But they wanted to be wherever Hanta was, not stuck in some glass box looking out at the world around them.